In the early 1900’s most people were only exposed to other cultures and travel destinations through books and newspapers. German entrepreneur Carl Simon solved this problem for many through his unique photo slideshows and lectures.
Simon (1873 – 1952) founded his own photography service company in 1907, where in addition to lending equipment and building cameras, he built an archive of glass slides of travel locations, people and cultures, animals, and many other subjects. He and his staff colorized many of the slides and then organized them by themes or locations and stored them in wooden boxes. Simon lent these wooden boxes and lectures to interested parties to share with their colleagues and friends. Check out this gallery of images:
Venice, 1920s. 
Spain, Cordoba, Catedral de Cordoba, 1910 
The old town of Avila, Spain, circa 1910 
Egypt, impression of Sahara Desert, circa 1910. 
Egypt, Dahabiya, the river-going sailboats on the river Nile, circa 1920. 
China, Bridge in the Forbidden City in Peking (now Beijing), circa 1910. 
Sweden, province of Smaland, view to the Castle of Kalmar, circa 1920. 
View to Neuschwanstein castle at Bavaria, circa 1910. 
Impression of a pilgrimage to Rome, 1920s.
Simon was motivated to show the world to as many people as possible, especially those without the means to travel and explore on their own. He developed slide shows and lectures to support this mission, and he began touring Germany. His lectures were given at parishes and local town halls. The slide projector enabled his audiences to visualize the subjects discussed in his lectures, making them more interesting and compelling.
UIG contributing partner United Archives (www.united-archives.de) acquired the substantial Simon archive in 2012, and soon began digitizing it, making this photographic treasure available for the world to see and learn from.
To view the extensive Carl Simon archive at United Archives, please click here
Sources:
Photos courtesy of United Archives and Carl Simon Collection / United Archives.
Text sources:
Christine Schwarz / United Archives
Around the world in 80.000 slides: the Carl Simon collection